Large bridge cranes and A-frame hoists are available to lift objects with a range of weights. These lifting devices are generally designed to lift relatively heavy objects. As a result of their size and strength, these devices are relatively expensive and are not available in many vehicle and vehicle body repair shops.
Specialized lifting tools are available for lifting specific vehicle components. Such tools are generally designed to lift one specific item only. The item can, for example, be a transmission, an engine, a door or even a hood. Such tools do not have excess lifting capacity and could not be modified to handle a substantial range of vehicle parts.
A few lifting tools, such as the vehicle body repair tool disclosed in my allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/798,234 filed Mar. 2, 2001 and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,906, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, are designed with accessories to perform a variety of relatively common tasks. Many vehicle repair facilities have become specialized in recent years. As a result, they do not need a tool with a variety of accessories for lifting tasks that they do not encounter in their work. For these specialized repair facilities, a tool with several accessories for different lifting tasks are considered to be too expensive.
Large numbers of pick-up trucks are manufactured and sold today. Their popularity is due to a number of capabilities including the ability to transport cargo which will not fit into an automobile, their durability and their relatively low repair costs. Many of these pick-up trucks have fuel tanks mounted in the frame and a fuel pump mounted inside the fuel tank. With the proper tool, fuel pumps and fuel tank problems can be repaired in less time by removing the cargo box first. Removal of the cargo box can also be a timesaver when repairing the truck frame, the rear axle, the suspension system or the cargo box.
Many lifting tools that can be used to remove pick-up truck boxes suspend the box from one or two cables. Any load suspended from one cable is free to rotate about the axis of the cable. In addition to rotating, such loads can swing in any direction and may also be able to tilt. Loads suspended from two cables can swing and may also tilt. To prevent damage to light trucks and pick-up truck boxes, it may be necessary to have two or more people hold a pick-up truck box steady while others control the lifting machine.
The pick-up truck box removal tool 10 has a carriage frame supported by a plurality of wheels. A generally vertical mast has a lower end secured to the carriage frame and an upper mast end. A slider assembly is mounted on the generally vertical mast and is slidable along at least a portion of the generally vertical mast between the mast lower end and the mast upper end. A slider actuator, carried by the carriage frame and connected to the slider assembly, is operable to lift and lower the slider assembly on the generally vertical mast. A truck box rear holder includes a rear transverse bar connected to the slider assembly and held in a fixed position relative to the slider assembly, a left tailgate pivot stud receiver adjustably mounted on the rear transverse bar and a right tailgate pivot stud receiver adjustably mounted on the rear transverse bar. A truck box front holder includes a compression beam having a compression beam rear end pivotally attached to the slider assembly and pivotable about a transverse horizontal front axis holder, at least one length adjustment pole adjustably connected to the compression beam. A transverse front pole is pivotally attached to the at least one length adjustment pole and is movable toward and away from the slider assembly with the at least one length adjustment pole. A left truck box side rail engaging plate is adjustably connected to the transverse front pole. A right truck box side rail engaging plate is adjustably connected to the transverse front pole. An adjustable length assembly has a first end connected to the slider assembly and a second end connected to the compression beam at a position spaced from the transverse horizontal front holder axis and is operable to raise and lower the transverse front pole relative to the truck box rear holder.